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Hey their actor friends.

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Welcome back to casting actor's cast,

the podcast that helps you prepare

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smarter, act better and book more.

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I'm Jeffrey Dreisbach casting

director teacher, and your friendly

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guides through the wonderful, weird and

sometimes wobbly world of show

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business.

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Today's episode is when I think you're

going to really appreciate, because it

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answers a question I get all the time.

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What do casting directors actually

remember about you?

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Spoiler alert, it's not your hair,

color, your wardrobe, or how you

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pronounce cheesburger in your slate

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it's something way more interesting.

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And understanding it could literally

change how you walk into every audition

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from now on.

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This is casting actor's castle.

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Welcome back to casting actress.

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Cass.

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I am casting partner Jeffrey Dreisbach

with the McCorkle group in New York.

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Nice to have you here today.

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That is absolutely true.

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It's a question I get all the time in

slightly different formats with the

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classes that I teach.

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The same question happens, but in a

slightly different way.

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It's like, how can I stand out in an

audition, or what are you looking for?

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What is that certain something that

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you look for in an audition?

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Those are the kinds of questions that I

get.

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And today is the day I'm going to be

answering those questions.

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But first, this is that moment of the

podcast where I get to say thank you

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for tuning into casting actors cast.

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We're up to like, 392

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episodes of the podcast.

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I really can't believe it.

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It's been so much fun bringing these to

you.

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And I just wanted to thank you for

tuning in.

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I invite you to check out the website,

casting actors cast dot com that's

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casting actors cast, all one words dot

com there.

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You're going to find some cool stuff, I

think you're going to find, if you fill

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out the form that says, dive into the

talent pool.

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There's some freebies, yeah, totally

free.

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One is a book on doing voice over work,

called conversation pieces out of the

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studio, the voiceover workshop for

professional actors.

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There's also a video called casting

secrets, what they don't tell you.

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Also on the website, you're going to

see a course that is available,

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very reasonable, and I think really

valuable.

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But there's also my book that I'm

really, really proud of, called book

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tit, the actor's play book for getting

cast.

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And that's also available on audio

books.

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So, all kinds of things, they are going

on.

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And of course, my shout out to my good

friends at actors connection, actor's

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connection dot com, slash, New York.

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So I find that's such an interesting

question that I get from actors all the

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time.

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But let's break it down just a little

bit and talk about the myth of the

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perfect impression.

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You know what?

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I know, that actors try to leave a

great impression, and that's understandable.

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You want us to think you're

professional,

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talented, likable?

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You want that call back?

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Right?

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I get it.

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I've been there.

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But guess what?

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Here's the truth?

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Casting directors aren't sitting around

afterward saying, wow.

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Remember that actor who smiled so

perfectly and said, thank you three times?

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Sorry?

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Nope

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we remember

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moments,

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genuine

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human moments,

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when something about you, your choices,

your authenticity, your sense of play

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connects emotionally

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or truthfully,

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guess what here's what?

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We don't remember, the safe, polite,

careful performances,

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those blend together.

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What sticks?

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The actor who made me laugh

unexpectedly,

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who took a risk that told me something

about the character I even hadn't considered.

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Who

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made the words sound like their own

thoughts.

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That's

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gold.

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And so

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rethinking

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the question is the most valuable thing

that you could do right now?

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Instead of asking,

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what can I do to show off or stand out?

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It's nothing you can do other than

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be committed to the work.

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Let's talk about what actually stays in

a casting director's mind.

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So I'm going to break down a few things

that we actually remember after a

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session ends.

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I've got five of them.

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I think you're going to find these

helpful.

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One,

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emotional clarity.

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When you connect, authentically,

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not overly emotional,

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but clear

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we feel it.

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We might think, wow, that person really

understood the stakes

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that lingers.

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Two, unexpected choices that make sense

when you surprise us.

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But, you know,

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be careful about this.

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I don't mean in a random way,

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you take what's on the page and elevated

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with a personal truth.

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But I mean by that, maybe it's your

timing,

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maybe your timing is a little off beat,

or you bring a quiet power instead of

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obvious energy.

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I remember that.

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I also remember if the character you're

playing has a sense of humor,

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bringing humor into any scene, even if

it's a serious one,

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approaching the material from a

different

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off beat point of view can make a real

difference.

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Number three, ease and self awareness.

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You see the actor who isn't trying to

impress,

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but just

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does the work.

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You know,

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that calm professionalism

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that stands out

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confidence, doesn't shout.

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It resonates.

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Ok?

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Somebody write that down.

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That was really good.

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Number four, connection,

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connection with the reader, connection

with the text, or connection with the

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casting director.

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If I see you genuinely listening,

instead of waiting for your next line,

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i'll remember you.

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You made the scene feel alive.

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And then finally, number five

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let's just call it recovery.

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And

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this one's big.

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If you mess up,

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if you forget a line or you have a

rough moment.

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Every one has that.

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That happens all the time.

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But you recover

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with grace.

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I promise you all absolutely remember

that.

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Because that's real world

professionalism,

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make sense.

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Here's a story I've got to share that

illustrates this.

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I think absolutely perfectly.

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We'll call it the story behind the

memory.

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I once cast an actor for a film role

because of something that happened in

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an audition two years earlier.

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She hadn't booked that project, but I

remember her poise after an awkward mistake.

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You see, the director had spilled

coffee mid read.

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And while

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most actors would have frozen and

stopped.

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She just smiled and said, let's make

this part of the scene.

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It was funny, it was human, and it was

effortless.

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That moment

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told me volumes about how she would be

on set.

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She would be adaptable, she would be

good humored, she would be confident.

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I wrote her name down

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two years later

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when I had a role that needed those

exact qualities.

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Guess who came to mind?

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Listen, when we come back, we're going

to talk about how you can create

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lasting impressions,

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right after this.

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Ok?

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How can you create lasting impressions?

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So as an actor, what can you do to

create that kind of memorable experience?

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Here are my tips.

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There are five,

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start

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from the inside

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out.

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Make sure your understanding of the

character is grounded in real emotion,

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not performance tricks.

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What's the situation

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really about for you?

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Number two, focus on connection, not

presentation.

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That's a big one.

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I want you to look at your reader.

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I want you to listen deeply.

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Let the scene be a conversation and not

a monologue.

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That's a biggie,

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because you're feeling like, this is

your audition, that you are

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being tested, that you are being judged.

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Gosh, that could be really

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not only painful, but that can also

just be another layer that we don't need.

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The character doesn't think in terms of

being tested, does it?

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It doesn't?

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But the actor does.

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Number three, don't hide your quirks.

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This is a big one as well.

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So many people have unique and

interesting qualities about themselves.

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Your individuality

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is your brand.

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The things that you think might make

you kind of weird or different or off

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beat, those are often exactly the kind

of things that we remember.

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It is your uniqueness

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that was going to book you the call

back and the job,

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those quirky little affectations that

you think might be, you know, something

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you want to kind of disguise,

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absolutely wear, like a badge of

honour.

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I promise you.

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Those get remembered.

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And that's remembered for a good reason,

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because if it fits in

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with the vision of the character that

you're playing, then there's no one

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else who could play it quite like you.

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That's what gets remembered.

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Number four, I want you to stay relaxed

and playful.

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Just remember that it's a creative

process.

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It is not a test.

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We remember people who make the room

feel good, who approach the work with curiosity.

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Number five, be kind

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seriously.

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We remember kindness.

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I think you might be surprised how rare

that can be in a high stakes audition day.

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And I get it.

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If we're doing a television pilot

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and you're an actor who's been given an

audition for a TV pilot that could

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really make the difference in your

career may be going from a struggling

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actor who's

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trying to get in there and make it

happen for themselves to suddenly have

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an opportunity, like a TV pilot that

could really

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change the trajectory of your career.

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Of course, those stakes for the actor

are going to be really, really high.

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And that's why I suggest working

against that just a little bit.

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Working against it in the sense of just

b the professional,

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just focus on the

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task

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at hand

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and do your best to turn down that

volume in the head that's giving you

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all of these high pressured,

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weird energies

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about how important this audition is.

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And I've said this before many

podcasts, but I just love it when the

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actor treats an audition like they've

booked the job, and it's the first day

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of rehearsal,

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you see, that makes a big difference,

because that means you're in a collaborative

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that you're in a place that's saying, I

got the part.

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I'm really here to work.

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Let's have fun.

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Let's do this.

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And that's not easy.

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But I also tell you, that's a learned

thing.

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That is not something that you can just

sort of do.

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It's something that takes a little bit

of time.

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And be very conscientious

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of those thoughts.

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Because what we think about ourselves

is exactly who we are.

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The good news, we can change that.

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So I want you to think of yourself in a

slightly different light.

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And audition is not a test.

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It's just an opportunity.

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And that opportunity

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is one in which we can see how you're

playing the part.

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The subtext is,

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I can't wait for you to see how I'm

going to play this part.

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All right, I hope that was helpful.

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So here's your takeaway?

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Remember that?

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Casting directors,

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we remember truth.

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We remember authenticity.

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Casting directors remember you when you

stop trying to be impressive and

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instead focus on being real,

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don't aim to be unforgettable.

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That's a huge mistake.

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Cause, even now I know that teachers

say, listen it's a tough business.

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You gotta stand out in that audition.

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You've got to be memorable you know

what?

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The way to be memorable is, aim to be

undeniably

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present.

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The rest is

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definitely going to just simply take

care of itself.

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I promise you.

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So listen, if today's episode resonated

with you, please share it with the

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fellow actor who needs that reminder.

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And if you haven't yet, check out my

audio book, booked it.

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My online course is called next level

auditions.

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They're both designed to help you take

these insights even further

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until next time.

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This is Geoffrey dry's back reminding

you, stay inspired,

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stay specific

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and keep showing up.

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You never know who's remember you?

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Abb